


all I wanted (was to fall asleep)

by lesbiancristina



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: M/M, yet another fic written at 3am
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-06
Updated: 2020-09-06
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:14:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26329222
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lesbiancristina/pseuds/lesbiancristina
Summary: He gets a rude awakening, the blankets torn off from him, leaving him curled up and shivering, cold air nipping at his exposed skin. He sits up, glaring at Nursey, who has Dex’s blanket raised up and out of Dex’s reach. “What the fuck, Nursey?” He croaks, voice heavy with sleep. “I was sleeping.”"Yeah, in my bed, Poindexter. Get the fuck up."Dex is not having a fight in his underwear, so he scrambles for his clothes, pauses with his shirt in his hands. "Your bed?" Did they swap and he forgot?aka three times Dex fell asleep in Nursey's bed by accident, and one time he did it on purpose.
Relationships: Derek "Nursey" Nurse/William "Dex" Poindexter
Comments: 18
Kudos: 246





	all I wanted (was to fall asleep)

**Author's Note:**

> me? writing fic at three am? again? you betcha.

Dex eyes are dry and irritated, his limbs heavy as he treks across campus. He’s had classes all day, and between excerpts of his essay floating behind his eyelids and hockey practice kicking his ass this morning he's so looking forward to being horizontal and dead to the world for at least the next ten hours.

His feet carry him to the Haus and right up the stairs on autopilot, his brain fuzzy and tired. He strips down and crawls into the bottom bunk, taking a second to wonder why his pillow smells like Nursey's shampoo, if Nursey's been napping in his bunk  _ again _ , before he slips into dreams, exhaustion winning out over his curiosity. 

He gets a rude awakening, the blankets torn off from him, leaving him curled up and shivering, cold air nipping at his exposed skin. He sits up, glaring at Nursey, who has Dex’s blanket raised up and out of Dex’s reach. “What the fuck, Nursey?” He croaks, voice heavy with sleep. “I was sleeping.”

"Yeah, in my bed, Poindexter. Get the fuck up."

Dex is not having a fight in his underwear, so he scrambles for his clothes, pauses with his shirt in his hands. "Your bed?" _ Did they swap and he forgot? _

There’s a hard set to Nursey’s jaw, and his eyes flash with emotion, but Dex can’t put a name to it. "You don't get to come up here whenever you want, Dex, you're the one who moved out!"  _ Oh _ . He did, didn't he? He moved into the basement.

He doesn't know how to explain that his feet had carried him here without his permission, that he just wanted to be at home in his own bed and this is where he ended up. Can't even begin to rationalise it to himself, because it makes no fucking sense whatever way he spins it.

He pulls his shirt over his head, shoves his legs into his trousers roughly and gathers everything else into his arms. He ignores the pang of deja vu brought on by Nursey watching him collecting his things like this.

"Sorry." He mumbles and apparently that's not good enough for Nursey, because he yells "Seriously?" and lobs a pillow at Dex's head.

"I'm sorry, okay! It was familiar and I was half asleep when I came up here! It won't happen again!" Shame burns like acid in his gut, because it's his own fucking fault, isn't it? He's the one who threw a tantrum like a toddler and moved into the basement.

If he thinks too hard about it he'll realise he didn't want to be alone, wanted to see Nursey specifically, has missed him, so he doesn't think too hard about it.

"Bruh," Nursey says, and he looks drained, his eyes almost sad. Dex swallows hard, forces himself to meet Nursey's gaze.

"I was a dick." He admits.

Nursey quirks an eyebrow, "What was that?"

"I was a dick."

Nursey laughs, then, and Dex sees the way his eyes crinkle around the corners, the dimple in his chin. "Yeah, you were." He says, and he's in Dex's space, ruffling his bed head. "That's a good look for you, Poindexter."

"Oh, fuck off, Nurse."

"No, really," Nursey chirps, looking self-satisfied. It looks good on him. The bastard. "I've missed your carrot top in the mornings."

"Well I haven't missed your fucking snoring." Dex says, and somehow they're both smiling, tension gone.

"I don't snore."

"You do. Like a fucking tractor."

*

Dex is drunk as a skunk. Everything feels pleasantly floaty, and everyone here is so nice. _ So nice. _

Bitty laughs and pats Dex's arm. "You're nice, too, Dex."

Dex frowns because that's not right at all, he's not nice. He's grouchy and occasionally rude and always emotionally reserved. He tells Bitty this, but Bitty simply shoos him away, telling him to go drink some water and sleep it off.

"You're so smart, Bits." He manages, and he gets halfway to the kitchen before he forgets why he was going there in the first place, his mind drifting to Nursey; the last time he saw him Nursey was dancing, but that was ages ago now. He turns on his heel and stumbles. He’s kept upright by someone who might be Whiskey, but he's gone too quickly to be sure, so Dex makes for the staircase.

The stairs pose a challenge, because they keep moving, and he's pretty sure they've never done that before, which is pretty fucking rude when he's trying to get upstairs to see Nursey. After a truly herculean effort on his part he manages to stumble onto the landing, clumsy fingers trying to twist the doorknob.

"Aha!" He exclaims, the door swinging open, to reveal an empty room. He frowns, a pang of disappointment hitting him right in the gut. He debates the stairs for a long moment and blanches. He has to go down a second set of stairs to get to his own room, and that's too many damn stairs.

He's just going to wait here for Nursey and then they can figure out the stair situation together. “‘M a fucking genius.” He whispers, delighted with his plan. 

He shuts the door behind him and sinks down onto the edge of Nursey's bunk, marvels at how soft Nursey's sheets are, runs his fingers over the fabric and hums along with music playing downstairs, swaying where he sits.

He'll be much steadier if he lies down, he's sure. He rests his head on Nursey's blanket, knowing that Nursey will be up any minute now; he doesn't know what he wanted to find Nursey for in the first place, but he knows it was important, so he’s gotta stay right here so Nursey can find him and he can tell him….can tell him....

He dozes, eyelids too heavy to keep open, and in flashes of consciousness he sees Nursey leaning over him with an amused smile, which Dex tries his level best to return. He thinks he tells Nursey that he’s glad to see him, but the words are heavy on his tongue so he can’t be sure. His limbs are carefully rearranged and a blanket settles over him.

Nursey says something, but Dex can't make him out.

He'll ask Nursey later, it's important Nursey knows Dex wants to listen to him when he speaks.

He'll just ask him later.

*

Dex hates his lit elective. With a passion. The fact that he shares the class with Nursey is the only redeeming factor, and even then he struggles not to resent how easy it all comes to Nursey.

Nursey takes it in his stride, all smiles and careful wording, so when Dex agrees to study together it feels like Nursey will benefit from it too, somehow. He lets himself be duped happily, and finds himself spread out on Nursey's bed on Thursday evenings, books and laptops between them; snacks shared and books passed back and forth, notes made in Nursey’s illegible scrawl and in Dex’s slightly more legible handwriting. 

He likes the routine of it; the walk across the Quad with Nursey at his side after class, Dex making them coffee, Nursey’s so milky it probably doesn’t count, the way they bundle into Nursey’s bunk together, how over the weeks the space between them lessens, until they’re pressed side by side, Dex peering over Nursey’s shoulder as he reads, following along quietly. 

Dex likes to see the way Nursey comes alive, just like he does on the ice, his face vibrant and his gestures wild and pointed, likes seeing this side of him Dex could never have dreamed up, likes learning all the facets that make Nursey himself. 

Nursey loves highlighters, has a pencil case full of them in a rainbow of colours, takes them to pretty much everything on the page, the lids held carefully between his teeth, scribbles in the margins and on post it notes. He reads passages to Dex, carefully coaxes him into conversation about the poet of the week, and doesn't make Dex feel stupid when he offers his opinions; Nursey listens and responds with enthusiasm and Dex is swept up in Nursey's love for poetry.

Dex falls in love with Nursey somewhere between Emily Dickinson and Langston Hughes, between Ocean Vuong and Tina Chang, between Maya Angelou and Elizabeth Barrett Browning. Falls in love with the highlighter on Nursey's arms, the brightness of his eyes, the tone of his voice, the care he handles his books with, the patience he shows Dex.

It's a Thursday evening like any other, Nursey is absorbed completely, fingers carefully bookmarking a few pages at once, his brow furrowed in concentration; Dex sets his books aside, making a neat pile on the floor and watches Nursey.

As if feeling Dex's eyes on him, Nursey shifts his focus, blinking slowly back to reality. "What's wrong?" He asks.

"You're enjoying that way too much." It's not an answer, but it doesn't need to be. Dex sprawls out, his foot knocking against Nursey's. "Read it to me."

Nursey sighs dramatically and it’s all pretence because Nursey loves performing like this, just the two of them. Dex loves it, too, the closeness of it, the way Nursey’s gives Dex his full attention. Nursey dithers over Dex’s request for a few minutes, really dragging it out for the sake of it, but he acquiesces with a smile, flicking back a few pages. His voice washes over Dex, a wave over the shore, and he falls asleep like that, one of Nursey's hands curling around his ankle, and his soft words in Dex's ears.

*

"Stay."

Dex pauses mid-stretch. Nursey has been haphazardly going through all of his belongings, and more of his things have wound up on the floor than in his bag as far as Dex can see. He’s leaving for winter break in the morning, and has left packing to the last minute.

Dex has too, to be fair, but he figures that spending these last few hours with Nursey was a better use of his time than packing; it’ll only take him ten minutes, not the two hour long operation that Nursey’s got going on here. 

Still, he’s sleep-heavy and his fingers are tingling with the cold, which means he’s maybe fifteen minutes from conking out right here on Nursey’s floor, surrounded by discarded shirts and sweats, and Nursey lying on his bed and still raking his hands through his curls in frustration. 

“What?” His arms fall limply to his sides. Nursey’s holding a book in his hands, thumb running over the spine with purpose. He’s not looking at Dex, and Dex is sure he’s misheard him. “Nah, man I’m gonna hit the hay.” 

Nursey clears his throat, “Yeah, I figured,” He says, a forced laugh catching in his throat. “I just thought you could stay up here, but like. It’s cool, you don’t have to.”

“The top bunk isn’t made up.” Dex says, stupidly. 

Nursey huffs, running a hand across his nose. “I mean, it’s not like we haven’t had to share before.” His voice is quiet, but it carries, and Dex thinks of those few precious times he’s woken up with Nursey’s warmth along his side.. “Only if you want, y’know.” 

“What,” Dex asks, voice hoarse. His shoulders ache from how still he’s holding himself.. “You want me to?”

Nursey sets his book aside, picks his way across the room and suddenly he’s right there, in Dex’s space. “Dex,” He’s so close his breath ghosts across Dex’s chin, so close Dex could reach out and touch, if Nursey would let him. “Stay. I want you to.”

Dex is abruptly aware that it’s just the two of them in the Haus, that Nursey’s looking at him all soft and inviting and asking him to stay here with him tonight, in Nursey’s bed. The quiet want that flickers in his chest whenever he’s near Nursey flares. “Yeah. Yes.” He breathes, stumbling forward to close those last inches of space between them, his hands running over Nursey’s biceps, their noses bumping in Dex’s haste to be closer. 

Nursey’s laughing, shoulders shaking under Dex’s hands, but he’s holding onto Dex’s tight, his fingers pressing along the column of Dex’s spine. He presses a kiss to the corner of Dex’s mouth, sweet and lingering, and Dex turns his head just so, slotting their mouths together once, twice and then Nursey is burying his face in Dex’s shoulder, muffling a yawn there.

“You’ve got the worst timing, Nursey.” Dex chirps, fighting back a yawn of his own. “You’re literally leaving in the morning.”

“Yeah, okay, but we’d be waiting forever on you to do  _ anything _ , so like, you lose by default.” Nursey argues, carefully manhandling Dex onto the bottom bunk, pushing him right in towards the wall. Dex lets Nursey arrange them so Nursey has an arm slung over Dex, pressed right along his back. Nursey kisses Dex’s shoulder gently, reverently. 

“We should pro’ly talk,” Dex forces the words out, not sure if he can manage that particular conversation right now, but willing to try. For Nursey. 

“We have time,” Nursey says, and Dex leans back into his warmth, slots his hand against Nursey’s, trapping it against his stomach. “We have all the time in the world.” 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> i just wanted dex seeking out nursey unconsciously when he's sleepy, bc sleepy dex knows that regular dex just wants to be around nursey all the fucking time if only he'd stop being stupid about it. is it any good? who can say! but i'm learning to be weirdly self indulgent with my writing, so!
> 
> come chat to me @deniceford on tumblr!


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